This training will fully meet the ethics requirement for PBS Endorsement Renewal. CEUs plan to be offered for other fields as well (SW, LPC, Psychology, Nursing pending. Please note that while this training may be approved for CEUs, it is not approved specifically for Ethics training other than PBS Ethics training). Check our WVAPS website at wvapbs.com for updates on the CEU approvals. Participation in the WVAPBS Network meeting will also count toward your Professional Development requirements for PBS Endorsement. FREE lunch is also included. ​RSVP required. Please email wvapbs@gmail.com if you plan to attend!

​The Improving Behavior, Improving Lives Conference , held September 19th and 20th at the Summersville Arena and Convention Center, pulled together over 145 professionals and 14 vendors across systems including Behavioral Health, Public Health, Child and Family Services, Court System, Juvenile Justice , advocates and family members serving individuals with multiple challenges and/or who may have experienced trauma. The WV-APBS network successfully applied for and received the annual APBS Network for Event/Conference Support in retaining nationally recognized expert in Positive Behavior Support, Dr. Meme Hieneman for consultation and the opening keynote address. Dr. Hieneman provided the key thematic framework of Positive Behavior Support philosophy, which was distributed to each presenter at the conference requesting that these themes be incorporated within the content of their presentation. Using her opening keynote address, the framework key themes of PBS was presented and the prior consultation encouraged the integration of the key themes, core values into content presented throughout this two day conference. This was pivotal in ensuring the success of one of the first of its kind workshops.

Working collaboratively were members of APBS, WV-APBS network, HCPBS network leaders, Seneca Health Services, WVU/Center for Excellence in Disabilities, Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities and the WV DD Council. The stage has been set for an integrated perspective, practical approach for open dialogue, problem solving and collaboration in improve services in our state for individuals with behavioral challenges. With a relatively short time for planning (WV/CED and WV-APBS was notified in July 2017 of available resources), national leaders within APBS networks, stepped forward to support this conference. Overall conference evaluation data will be used to plan future events to promote philosophical framework of Positive Behavior Support.

The Association of Positive Behavior Support was promoted in several ways throughout the conference including: published in Conference program book as sponsoring agency, poster on display in lobby of conference hall explaining benefits of membership, within content of opening keynote address, flyers relating to International conference in San Diego , California in March and within the exhibitor booth of the WV-PBS Network brochures were distributed for APBS membership/info, WV-APBS Network information and HCPBS Network information. The WV-APBS Network also held a drawing and gave away a year paid membership to APBS.

.....The founders believe it is a comprehensive and extremely cost-effective option and has few competitors. Not only does the program meet bullying prevention requirements, it also meets requirements for the Future Ready PA Index, which provides career readiness standards with benchmarks starting in fifth grade, and Chapter 339, a district-wide comprehensive school-counseling plan. In addition, it aligns with Positive Behavior Intervention Support, a proactive school-wide positive behavior framework to establish behavior support, as well as Response to Instruction and Intervention, a comprehensive, multi-tiered standards-aligned strategy to allow for early identification and intervention for students at academic or behavioral risk.

A Magical Triangle Approach with Discipline, Academics, and SELOnce we were able to set proper expectations for our teachers, we turned our focus on the disciplinary issues and classroom management, which were impeding any efforts to improve student achievement.First, we completely revamped of our disciplinary protocol to embrace a school-wide positive behavior support approach. Through a Response to Intervention-Behavior initiative, we set the stage for our disciplinary strategies.

On the academic side, we incorporated new approaches such as blended learning, problem-based learning, and personalized literacy solutions like myON. With those pieces in place, we believe that every student can achieve proficiency in reading and mathematics in every year of their educational experience.

We also believed that by accurately assessing and monitoring our students’ growth with our Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Rubric, we could help each student achieve proficiency in the “soft skills” they need. To this end, we implemented The Leader in Me program to provide a common focus, language, and platform for change. We also focused our efforts on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens to help our students grow in the SEL tier.

Finally, the collective and individual use of wildly important goals (WIGS) and leading measures for those goals has helped us begin to see the academic success that we envisioned. We’ve established our cadence of accountability by using scoreboards to monitor our progress and maintain focus on those goals and leading measures.

It happens more often than people realize.A student in middle school starts behaving disruptively in class. The teacher tries to manage the situation by balancing the young person’s needs with those of the other students, while maintaining a safe learning environment for all.But the situation soon gets out of hand. It ends with the student being led out of the classroom, in handcuffs, by a school police officer.​In Texas, a recent report by Texans Care for Children and Texas Appleseed found that of the 72 school districts that supplied data from 2011 to 2015, officers arrested students 29,136 times and issued 41,304 tickets or complaints — overwhelmingly for low-level, school-based behaviors.

The Case for ChangeIt might sound like a cliché to say that teaching is a stressful job. But behind the cliché lies a grim reality: Overburdened teachers dealing with a variety of issues in the classroom, including unaddressed mental health needs, often resort to punitive measures that alienate kids from school and feed the “school-to-prison” pipeline.This reality is the result of a failure to give teachers the resources and support they need to respond differently.According to one systematic review, students who receive positive behavioral health interventions see improvements on a range of behaviors related to academic achievement.This means not only better test scores and grade-point averages, but “increased on-task learning behavior, better time management, strengthened goal setting and problem solving skills, and decreased rates of absenteeism and suspensions.”The evidence is clear. Addressing mental health in schools fosters a climate that is healthier for kids, more supportive of teachers, and lowers costs to the state — what we pay in dropouts and future incarceration — over the long run.Just as there is a wealth of evidence for a relationship between behavioral health interventions and improved academic outcomes, there is also a wealth of evidence for the costs of doing things the usual way. Students who are expelled or suspended are up to 10 times as likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure and grade retention, hold negative attitudes about school or end up incarcerated as those who are not, according to a joint statement by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ozark Horizon School of West Plains and Skyview School of Mtn. Grove have both achieved the Missouri Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) Silver Recognition Award of Excellence for the implementation of SW-PBS within the schools.

The two schools will be honored during the 12th annual Missouri SW-PBS Summer Training Institute opening ceremonies at 1 p.m. on June 14 at Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach. Over 1,000 educators are expected to attend this conference to celebrate the exemplary schools, network with other educators and learn about systems, data and practices that improve behavioral outcomes for students.​SW-PBS is an evidence based, proactive approach to teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations in order to improve student behavior, maximize instructional time, and increase student engagement, education officials said. Schools achieve the MO SW-PBS Recognition Award of Excellence after a rigorous review of artifacts that represent the quality of their implementation of SW-PBS interventions, as well as evidence that the framework has resulted in improved outcomes for students.

...........T3 is unique to Rock Hill, but employs much-used principals of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Palermo said.PBIS is a proactive framework focused on positive behavior support and preventive school discipline, according to the Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, established by the U.S. Department of Education.

The PBIS approach helps schools adopt evidence-based behavioral interventions designed to improve student behavior and support academic success.“This is where you can praise or promote positive things the student is doing to build self esteem, create an intrinsic motivation to do better and ... allow a child to feel success,” Palermo said. “The T3 program’s consistent use of PBIS helps us prevent many behavioral issues before they even occur.”

A student who is successful in T3 will go back to their assigned school with a list of recommendations to fit their needs, Palermo said. If a child has problems later on, those recommendations are ways the issues can be resolved. The T3 staff also will continue to follow up with the students, Palermo said. He said they will help the student’s teacher learn how to work with the student and show the child what is expected.​Of 153 students served from January 2012 to December 2016, 87.5 percent returned to their assigned classrooms and showed significant improvement in their behavior, Palermo said.“I feel blessed that Rock Hill schools has given us the opportunity to do this,” he said. “From what I know, it has had a significant impact on those students that we’ve worked with.”

Charlie Brown attends a school in which students are instructed explicitly on pro-social skills. There is a behavioral curriculum in place, established, implemented and accepted by all educational staff and supported by parents. When behavioral problems do occur, his school has a system of support in place to address them.

Charlie's younger sister, Sally, attends a different school in which there are no explicit behavioral expectations. Students are not taught what behaviors are expected of them at school. Unlike at her brother’s school, Sally's pro-social, positive behaviors are not recognized. There is no clear incentive or direct impact for following the rules, which are unclear to begin with.

Which student may be more behaviorally successful? Which student may have better long-term life outcomes? Which school likely has a more welcoming climate, which supports students’ successes rather than relying solely on punishment? What if all schools could routinely teach pro-social skills to support the social and emotional well-being and success of all students?​The primary goal of our educational system is to help children develop academic, social and life skills. Many social and behavioral factors, such as lack of proactive behavior management, can stand in the way of reaching this goal. In fact, managing problematic behaviors can be one of the greatest challenges in both home and school settings.In schools, valuable instructional time can be lost due to disruptive and aggressive behaviors, which are the most common reasons for office disciplinary referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Behavioral difficulties can impact a child in the home setting, too. Behavior problems at home can negatively affect children’s relationships with their caregivers and siblings, as well as their self-esteem or self-identity.